Yard care

Cowboy

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looking for tips for a new burmuda sod yard. There has been a good bit of crab grass coming up and they sprayed with Q4 killer. It's been down for a couple of months now and has rooted very well. So my yard guy will seed and fertilize before the end of the growing season. Is there anything else to do? I'm thinking about a rain bird sprinkler system in the spring. Does anyone do the Tru Green people? It seems over priced to me.
 
Is crabgrass also known as highway grass?
 
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Plant trees, let the clover, purslane, and dandelions grow and find something that is actually interesting to do with your time?
Grow it wild for the pollinators. I'm getting ready to plant part of my yard in crimson clover for the bees next year.

Most of my yard is wild grass and weeds, but when you mow it, it is green just like grass.
 
Grow it wild for the pollinators. I'm getting ready to plant part of my yard in crimson clover for the bees next year.

Most of my yard is wild grass and weeds, but when you mow it, it is green just like grass.
Yeah, pretty much same here. Funny part is that most "weeds" have use as food or remedy. Grass is livestock food and puke fuel for dogs and cats and not much else.
I'm sure some people take great pride in their near perfect lawns, but I've got no use for it and I feel bad for the people that seem to do it as if coerced and derive little pleasure from it.
 
Yeah, pretty much same here. Funny part is that most "weeds" have use as food or remedy. Grass is livestock food and puke fuel for dogs and cats and not much else.
I'm sure some people take great pride in their near perfect lawns, but I've got no use for it and I feel bad for the people that seem to do it as if coerced and derive little pleasure from it.
Grass is a domesticated weed. I 've lived in the same place 30 years. No fertilizer, grass seed, or lime has been applied to the lawn since in bought the place. Only thing done is Round Up on the poison oak.

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I would definitely get several quotes if you are interested in an irrigation system. Bermuda is pretty tough and can survive without a fancy system. Bermuda is also a spreading type grass. This can make filling in much easier. I guess the answer is it really just depends.

Biggest thing in Bermuda is to mow it frequently enough, maintain good pH and nutrients, and keep the weeds out. Your yard guy may be able to help even more as well.
 
Grow it wild for the pollinators. I'm getting ready to plant part of my yard in crimson clover for the bees next year.

I would like to hear more about this.
 
I would definitely get several quotes if you are interested in an irrigation system. Bermuda is pretty tough and can survive without a fancy system. Bermuda is also a spreading type grass. This can make filling in much easier. I guess the answer is it really just depends.

Biggest thing in Bermuda is to mow it frequently enough, maintain good pH and nutrients, and keep the weeds out. Your yard guy may be able to help even more as well.

Yep this rain bird system looks easy enough to install myself.

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Rain-Bi...nd-Automatic-Sprinkler-System-32ETI/205081852
 
I looked at this a couple years ago but quickly realized I’d be better off piecing the system together myself. Since I’m a deal hunter, that kit isn’t all the great of a value. It’s also only a single zone which even for my small yard (.16ac) wouldn’t work well.
Use the rainbird system design tool on their site to get a better idea of what you might need. I spec’ed mine out to be about $450, but haven’t pulled the trigger as my 4 zone timer and sprinklers are working well for me.

Bermuda is pretty easy to care for, unlike my fescue. Quinclorac 75DF is hands down the best way to treat crabgrass post emergent. Do a soil test with your county extension office, it’s like $4. Use that to formulate your lawn care plan (lime, fert), and be sure to use a good pre-emergent in the spring. It’ll take a few years to kill all of the crab grass seeds that are dormant in your soil but with a good pre-emergent app, you’ll only have to do some spot spraying in July.

I find the lawn care nut and DoMyOwn on YouTube both very informative. Domyown.com is the best place to buy pro grade chemicals too.
 
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Largely using what I learned on YouTube, I removed the 3ft wide strip of stone that bordered my driveway and rehab’ed this side of my yard a couple years ago and this is what it looked like as the seed began coming in well.

As you can see, I was putting my neighbors yard to shame haha. Nice, deep green fescue thanks to Milorganite.
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Bermuda LOVES sun, water and fertilizer. Crabgrass is an annual & it's the towards the end of the season.
In Sept I'd raise the blades to the highest setting so there was ground coverage in the spring to slow down weed germination. Every two years in spring prior to greenup I'd burn it off. That kills the weeds that had germinated, adds potash, and heats the ground. The bermuda popped withing a couple weeks. Put down pre-emergent when the forsythia blooms.
I found this VERY helpful. https://www.turffiles.ncsu.edu/grasses/bermudagrass/
https://www.turffiles.ncsu.edu/email-me/
 
I’m sure Rainbird has the same information but Hunter industries has a great resource on their website: https://www.hunterindustries.com/residential-system-design-guide

The most import part is the information on your system capacity. Basically how much water is required to run X number of heads. You can then figure out how many zones you will need.
 
I would like to hear more about this.
Here is one bit of information.
https://www.beelab.umn.edu/sites/beelab.umn.edu/files/bee-lawns-2018-mg.pdf

In the late winter, early spring, the henbit and purple deadnettle blooms attract the bees, so I let it go. I let the white clover grow and bloom before mowing it. I'm planting crimson clover and have planted some little leaf linden trees. I also let the goldenrod go to bloom before mowing it. I have also planted blueberry bushes and fruit trees to help lure in the pollinators.
 
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